Lost but Finally Found
by BorealisBlazing
Summary: Royai. T for swearing and violence. Riza Hawkeye has always considered herself a nobody, just another soldier. But soon she will discover why she could never fit in, why she's always been 's because she was kidnapped from another world. Her world, incidentally. And they want her back. In the end, she'll have to chose, between a life that is a lie, or the hard truth.
1. Prologue

Well. First story. Exciting, eh? I've a mind to ask you if you wouldn't mind a little patience, I am a new writer and we all have to start somewhere after all. Thank you for reading, believe it or not, I truly appreciate the fact you clicked on this, even if you decided a millisecond later to close it. Please review (a minute for your thoughts :) ), if you don't mind. Thank you kind souls. Thank you. Truly. And mind, I may also have quite a few mistakes, the keyboard I'm typing on is horrible, and sometimes it doesn't always type what I want it to. If you want to Beta- read (I believe that is the term). Just ask. Unless you're a serial killer trying to get my personal information (even then, maybe we can work something out) then I will jubilantly accept. Now, to the prologue.

* * *

"When?!" The man in a silver knee-length coat demanded of his colleague.

"Soon" The man replied annoyingly. He wore a similar tan coat with a black slash across his shoulder,

as well as a scowl , which matched his face like the grim reaper with the unholy dead.

"If we make our move now Aredian, then we'll still be able to get what we came for. We wait? Then those bloody Amestrians will catch onto us. They cannot know Aredian. "

"Do you think I'm a fool? We need her on our side. She's been here for twenty years you moron, do you think it will be easy to win her over when all she has ever known exists on this putrid world? No, no, we must make her understand that they are her enemies. Then she shall join our ranks. And they shan't know! Not if you do as I say."

"And just HOW, how do you plan to plan to do that?! Amuse me, sire. She's in their damn military for God's sake!" The younger of the men raised his voice, growing weary of the conversation.

And yet, the older man shook his head only in bitter amusement and said, as if that explained everything, "You will make your move tomorrow."

The younger man's face won out in triumph, but his features remained confused. Nevertheless, he moved over and began sorting the various contents in the small box closest to his right, content with the knowledge that they would not be idle idiots for much longer.

But. Suddenly, a question came to his mind.

"What do we do with her when we get her?" He asked as if the question had never occurred to him before.

The old man stopped his work for a moment, and pausing his messy scrawl, he layed his quill on the table. He then looked at the boy (he had grown so much, hadn't he?) and opened his mouth to speak. But a memory came to him. A dark shiver ran down his spine then, and his face remained ghostly, as if he were haunted by something. And then clearing his throat, he regained his composure, and said simply

" We give her over. That, is all we came to do."

And with that very last syllable falling from his tongue, he picked up his work immediately as if his own words had disturbed him. The boy who was no longer a boy(Merrick, was his name) stood there and searched his uncle's face for any last hint at their intentions, but nothing exposed itself, and he continued to work . He was happy he was chosen to come at all, and the opportunity to see another universe, well, the idea had sold itself.

A chance to find the last elemental mage in all of the multiverse. The one that had been stolen all those years ago, her location only found recently. And, honestly, he just couldn't wait to meet her. Seriously, though, how many people meet the one person who can destroy an entire continent just by utilizing the very energy of the universe? He chuckled to himself, so many called him ignorant, naive, impatient, incompetent. No more, no more. And never again.


	2. No Clue

Well here we go. Probably riddled with errors I cannot find, but nevertheless, here we are. The plot will get more serious, and hopefully I can keep everyone in character (if don't please tell me) Betas are welcome and I can't believe I left out two important and crucial things.

1) Full Metal Alchemist belongs to the all-knowing inspirational wonder HIROMU ARAKAWA.

2) The name Aredian is from Merlin. This is not a cross-over. Just giving credit where its due. :)

I'm new at this, once again, so any tips are so much more then welcome. They are hug-worthy people. Hug-worthy.

Thank you LilyKit, for the seriously inspiring review. :) I was thinking about making it a cross-over, but I just couldn't decide on what fantasy world to do, so I decided not to go with it.

* * *

Hawkeye placed the stack of paperwork on her superior's desk, an art she had perfected over the years. And years. And years. Of the same conversation over and over again.

"It's due today sir."

"Then why didn't you give it to me yesterday?" He replied, merely trying to drag out the conversation so he could stall the inevitable work.

"Because you still haven't finished last month's work, sir" she replied irritably.

As if he really had any interest in why he didn't have more work. She walked over to her desk and began overlooking the new recruit files. She had been assigned the task of over-viewing the profiles for any, 'faults'. She sighed marking the file of an 'Andrew Cameron' who had his date of birth as ten years before she herself had been born. He was probably at the most 18 given the photo on the right side of the document . It was actually pretty common for recruits to try and make themselves sound older than they really were, even though it was technically illegal. Usually these 'faults' went by unnoticed (or the military chose not to notice), but occasionally a truly incompetent recruit would go over the edge, that or there was a glitch in the system. Annoyingly enough, it was usually the latter (which truly made no sense to her, Central could at least with all the employees it had on hand make an effort to file things correctly).

She let out a deep sigh just as the phone on her desk rang. She picked it up and said in the happiest tone she could manage, which, in fact made it sound like someone she had held dear to her heart had died a sudden and unexpected death (well…if Mustang…didn't do his work..). In other words, she did not sound like a girl scout about to sell some cookies.

"Mustang's office, how may I help you?'

**"WHY HELLO THERE HOW ARE YOU?!"**

She had expected to hear the monotone voice of the secretary three corridors down announce a visitor for the colonel (*cough* girlfriend *cough*) but this…was too much. The Hawk's eye could take death. She had seen genocide. She had seen soldiers come back with war wounds that looked too painful to be humanly possible. She had a serial killer be attracted to her. But to have someone scream "how are you" into the phone at 7:30 in the morning on a rainy Monday, after all the terrible things she had seen and done, well, that, crossed the line.

Her face grew deathly serious, and it took her an entire minute before she answered.

"Who. Is .This?" It was not a question. It was a statement that said not so subtly that the person who spoke through the phone would have a lot more to answer to than her voice.

"Just a fella wondering if a very pretty lady such as yourself would like to get a coffee with me, about now maybe?" Said a man with an extremely fake south accent.

The audacity of the man-made it hard for her to even think. Her mind was blank. This man, whoever he was, had just signed his own death certificate. He was obviously an assassin trying to get her out of the office so he could take a shot at Mustang. She glanced up at the Colonels desk, to find he was looking at her with a puzzled expression. She raised her eyebrows and turned her head slightly to the left. He nodded and after pressing a button on his receiver he placed the phone to his ear and nodded to her again.

"I have the information." It was the same voice…but the accent was gone and his voice sounded a lot less confident. There were voices in the background. An old man… and a girl?

Truly confused now, she looked up at Mustang, who nodded earnestly.

"The regular location...for the coffee?" She asked cautiously

"Yea-no-no… ummm…. 1013, the uh Bakery? Kalico's?" He replied, a certain amount of caution increasing with every voice. He was new at this.

After getting an approving glance from Mustang she replied "Oh. Yes. That's works grea-"

"Come alone." Every ounce of happiness was gone from his voice. There was only a threatening tone before the sound of a click resonated in her ear, a sign he had hung up.

She set the phone down, and looked at Mustang.

"Go, but I'm going to have Breda tail you. Stay safe, and don't let him know you're being followed." It was a command clear and forward, but the look in his eye said otherwise. She nodded at him, both to make it clear she understood her mission and to alleviate his worries. He always was looking out for her.

She grabbed her coat and walked out the door, the only things that she think about was just how nothing, nothing, made any sense about this whatsoever (why would he use a military line, call her instead of Mustang, and make it blatantly obvious that he was hiding something?!), that the guy she was meeting was obviously a fake, and how she hated coffee. It was too early for this.


	3. What To Do

Here we go again. Have I made Riza a little too harsh? I feel this part is very rushed, but try as I might, I couldn't give it a better feel. I do hope you enjoy this good people of nowhere-in-particular, if not, that's okay too. Thanks for reading folks. Reviewings are welcome, but do as you like. Wow, I'm really dragging this out, aren't I? ;)

* * *

She had arrived at the location, and crossing the street, saw the man who had called her. He was waving obnoxiously in her direction and grinning like an idiot, talk about _discreet. _The rain had let up, but there was still a damp feel in the air as she walked towards him, instantly regretting the fact she was about to become a part of this encounter. Up-close, he had a brown-copper curly hair. He was taller than her by about 5 or so inches and he had almost unnaturally deep blue eyes. He was dressed in a silver knee-length coat that looked absolutely ridiculous in broad daylight.

The man smiled and said in perhaps the most ridiculous voice possible "How's it going?"

"Fine. " She replied curtly, barely managing a smile. There was no way this man could be for real. For one, his attire was ridiculous and attracted far too much attention for someone trying to disclose discreet information. But nevertheless, curiosity was killing her as to how someone could possibly be this incompetent (hey, no one said criminals had to be smart).

"Good, good. I'm glad to see you're doing well. You're hair looks lovely." His attempt at a 'charming' smile triggered an involuntary flinch. This guy was trying too hard. He opened the door to the bakery which worked as a café in the morning and with his classic smile, he invited her in.

"Ladies first."

"Thank you" she responded cautiously, walking through the door frame but she kept her eyes on the ground, searching for tripwires. It may be a public place, but it was conveniently empty.

He motioned to a table on the right side of the room, one of the few that wasn't facing a window.

"Why don't we sit over there? Nice spot, eh?" His fake, plastic smile came out again. She was starting to think it was permanently affixed to his face.

"Sure." She tried to smile but the situation was getting uncomfortable. She had her gun, of course (and a back-up just in case). But there was something about this whole encounter…that was just unnerving. She had been under cover plenty of times , and she had always been able to keep her cool and hold her own. Still though, she sat down, silently wishing she had a way to contact Mustang. _Praying_ she had a way to contact Mustang. The man sat down suddenly across from her, causing her to jump suddenly. She wasn't like this. What was it about this guy that was so damn…irritating? It was almost like….she…had met him before. She shook the feeling off. Just Déjà vu.

"I got you cinnamon with it. Your favorite." He enunciated the last two words, like he was trying to say something else entirely. His smile gleamed again. He slid the coffee towards her.

"Hmmm" It was all she could manage. The surprise of it stunned her. Cinnamon _was_ her favorite (In everything but coffee. She hated the taste of coffee no matter what it was in or what was in it). Pure coincidence. Than why did she want to jump up and bolt? Why was this guy scaring the hell out of her? His eyes met hers. There was something behind that smile, which was fading quickly from his massive grin into a small, slight, almost smug smile. This one seemed real. There was something frightening about his eyes, like he wanted something from her. Now the insatiable desire to run away was making her shiver from anxiety. But she just kept staring at his eyes like a deer in headlights.

Every one of her instincts screamed something was wrong. She was reaching for her gun when the man's head suddenly jerked to the right, his eyes fixed on a figure quickly advancing towards the building. Red hair, short, a long tan coat covering a blue military uniform and a pair of glaring brown eyes fixed on the figure staring opposite to him from behind a glass window. She felt an inward wave of relief. Breda. She put on a sickly sweet smile and gestured towards the door.

"I should probab-" She was about to finish when he grabbed her wrist and yanking her over towards him and said in a simple, clear, and all together far too threatening voice for her taste:

"_**Trust NO ONE**_."

His touch made her head explode with shock, like she had just realized something extremely important. She yanked her arm away from him, grabbing her gun from inside her uniform, and aimed it straight at-

Wait.

There was no one there.

She flipped around to the sound of a door swinging open (or closed?!) only to see Breda standing in the doorway, his gun also drawn.

"Where da hell did he go?!" His gruff voice filled with confusion. He swiveled around, looking for the escapee.

But all Riza could see was the large and thick brown envelope that lay on the table. She picked it up and touched the material. She turned it over and could only stare. In large letters written in black marker were the words:

_**REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE**_

* * *

Wow. No, I'm not shipping Merrick and Riza. Just in case anyone was thinking that. You probably weren't, but still. But I won't. Hahahha. No sirree. Mwahahaha. Maybe. It depends on how I work it out. But this is still royai. I talk too much.


	4. Which Way

Wow. This is a big fishy here. My longest one yet. I think I'm about to get emotional here (I'm an overly emotional person). First up we have (Merrick) give a little monologue about what it's like to be inside his head for a half a second. Then we've got a nice hunk o plot for everyone out there. Is this chapter rushed, do you think? I keep getting this internal spidey-sense that I'm doing something wrong here :) .

**_Thank you for the review LilyKit! :) :) :)_**

* * *

He couldn't actually believe it had worked. Obviously he had already known she would have been smitten with him at first sight (he was ever so very devilishly handsome, was he not?), but to fall for the trap?! If only her comrade hadn't bust in, then she would have sunk inescapably into his deep eyes. He knew he had made an impact on her, and it was only a matter of time before she turned her back on her Amestrian friends and came back to Iriale with them. She was even attractive when you got past that frown that was glued to her face. Maybe it was destiny they had met- but that didn't matter. What mattered was the package had been delivered. It was only a matter of time now. Then she would be all h-theirs. Theirs.

* * *

She didn't look at Breda on the drive back to HQ. She kept the envelope hidden inside her jacket, and couldn't get the series of events that had just occurred out of her brain. She had to tell Roy as soon as possible.

"You Okay?" Breda's voice broke through the questions in her mind and for a second she turned and looked at him.

"Yes. Thank you. I'm okay." But she knew her expression looked lost, and she wasn't quite sure if that wasn't entirely right. Nothing seemed clear, and when he had touched her arm- she had remembered something. She searched her mind, what was it….what was it!? It had meant so much to her in the second she had it in her mind. If only- she jumped as the car came to a stop.

"Here we are Lieutenant. By the way, did you get his name?"

"Hmm? No . No, I didn't ask." She replied disinterested.

"Thank you, Breda" she remembered, turning to him with a small smile

"Anytime, now let's see what Mustang's up too." He shrugged and smiled back.

For whatever reason, having the old comrade's smile made her feel better. Like this whole situation hadn't put her out of place. She shivered, but she wasn't cold.

They arrived in the office, only to find it clear.

"The colonel must have had a meeting. As for Fuery and Falman, I think, must have gone out to work on that cult suicide that happened last week, they must have work to do with the investigative department." She deducted.

She pretended to glance at the clock on the wall and smiled reassuringly at Breda "Well, it looks like it's yours and Havoc's lunch breaks. Better get going, eh?"

"You…sure you are okay Lieutenant?" Breda glanced anxiously in her direction

"I'm fine." She responded trying to sound more confident. She was itching to get a look at that file. Alone.

"If…you say so." Breda smiled and walked out the door, about to enjoy his favorite time of the day with not a worry on his mind.

After he had closed the door behind him, she waited about a minute. Then she took the envelope out. The thick paper had a quality about it that seemed unique to other materials she had seen. She sat there staring at it.

Finally suspense won out, and she flipped it over examining the seal that held it shut. It was what looked like a dragon, it's wings spread out, facing forward. On each wing there were two symbols, and above the dragon's head the word 'Eternal' was embossed in neat script on the red wax. She opened one of her drawers and quickly found the necessary letter-opener. She carefully removed the seal by slipping the knife under the hard red wax and working her way through. After that was dealt with, she laid the seal aside, and opened the envelope, distributing the contents across her desk. She couldn't believe her eyes. Impossible.

Her birth certificate.

An adoption certificate.

Military records, military reports…

She flipped one open and skimmed through it, her heart ramming her chest like it might burst out. She caught only bits and phrases; she flipped through page after page, word after word engraving itself into her mind, scarring her subconscious. This had to be a lie.

"_Unknown child who possesses unnatural abilities…"_

"_This cannot be alchemy but a divine measure all-together…"_

"_Subject is dangerous, must be terminated and never released into general population…"_

"_Not of this world…"_

"_The perfect weapon…"_

"_**We have decided to give the subject, 65784 (deemed 'Riza' by the fellow researchers) into the parental custody of one Berthold Hawkeye, where he will observe and record his findings on the afore-mentioned subject while working under the guise of continuing his already finished flame alchemy. He will receive, in full payment, no less than 100,000 Cenz for his troubles, as well as recognition in the scientific community."**_

She couldn't stop. Every sentence cut a little part of her heart out (it was all a lie, _**a lie)**_but it was the last file that if it that would have been possible, would have ripped her soul out of her. It was titled "File 14" and was dated just a little over two years ago. None of it made any sense!

It had a description of her home, Black Hayate, what she wore, and other personal details that disturbed her. The report was written by some other researcher, Hillton, was his name, but the report also had to be signed by a supervisor. Someone who had known about the experiment. Who approved of the researcher's own findings. And lo, and behold, there at the bottom of the page, in messy scrawl was a name.

And that name was Roy Mustang.

The document was obviously a fake. But that didn't explain why she wanted to hurl it at the wall in a hurricane of fury and scream till her lungs ached from pain. For the first time in her life, Riza Hawkeye wanted to BREAK something.

But instead she placed everything back into the envelope. Nicely and neatly. Every paper in the exact same order it was put in, and after that, she affixed the seal in the exact position it had been in. She placed the envelope on Mustangs desk with an attached not that said:

"_Dear Colonel, this was given to me by our new information 'source'. I have not had a chance to overview its contents yet, contact me if you find anything of significance."_

Now she was lying to him?! But she had to know. It couldn't be real. She knew that. Then why was she doing this? How had a single pile of paperwork made her suspicious of the one person who had always understood her? Mustang would never have allowed the situation to have been reversed (If it had to do with paperwork he would never have been in the situation to begin with). He would never give up on her. She would do the same. No matter what…evidence presented itself.

And yet, on her desk, she saw on her desk a single scrap of paper that she had missed when she had restored the envelope.

"Damn." She whispered bitterly.

Too late now.

She picked it up and raised her eyebrows at its contents.

_**8:00**_

_**Under the south lamppost at 15**__**th**__** Avenue**_

_**Come Alone**_

_**I Know you Want Answers**_

She would be there. This time, no matter how risky, she'd go alone.

It was time for the truth.

Her life had changed in the span of five hours.

* * *

Wanna see more? Have a looksee when I upload the next chapter! Why does she even believe whats in that envelope? Why isn't there more royai? Why is Merrick obsessed with our favorite sharp shooter? Like I said...in the next one.

Thanks for reading. ;)


	5. What Makes A Monster?

Wow, this seemed to take forever to write compared to the other ones. My exzema's been flaring up so I've been working on it on and off. Meh, once again I have this double feeling I'm moving too slow on some parts and too fast on other ones. Thank you, though, for reading :). Oh, and I left the meet with Merrick till the next one, too much stuff stuffed into this chapter and I thought it would be too much to have that in as well. Hope you enjoy folks ;).

* * *

It was about two more hours before he walked in. He was smiling; it was an honest sincere smile that made her want to grin right back. But she didn't, no, she just watched him. She watched him walk over to his desk and sit down, look at the envelope, than glance up at her in surprise.

She averted her glance just in time, and he never saw the look in her eye. She could hear him pop open the seal casually, and then shuffle through the contents of said envelope. He never made sound. No, it was the confused look on her face that got her at first. _Thank God. Just a clever little scheme that was set up to trick me into never trusting the colonel again_. But after a few seconds, his face changed. At first the expression in his eye was horror, then anxiety, and then finally the sound of the rapid movement of the papers being forced back from whence they came. She could think of nothing to justify that. Nothing but the fresh memory of his signature on that paper.

For yet another two hours all he did as work. The constant scribble of his pen against paper was the only sound in an almost empty office (the others had not returned yet...where were Breda and Havoc?) that seemed, very crowded as of late. He went through his work like there was no tomorrow, or that she was personally holding him at gun-point with every intention of pulling the trigger. After about 15 more minutes, she just couldn't take it. All that suspense and tension was bottled up in her and it was time to pop off the cork. She walked up to his desk, and attempted to lift the envelope off of it.

"I should probably take this down to evide-"

His hand slammed down on it, causing her to flinch visibly and jump back. The look in his eye was ferocious. That look in his eye could only be fear.

"I'll _**handle**_ it Lt. "

His tone was more than an order. It was almost like he was angry at her. There had been times when he had scolded at her, yelled at her, criticized her, but there had always been some valid reason for it. That she could take no matter how upset at her he got. But he seemed almost animal now. Almost feral.

She took a step back and cleared her throat.

"I'm sorry sir" she struggled to regain her composure.

His face changed into one of sympathy. One of so much sympathy it scared her. He stood up and walked over to her.

"You look tired" he said, placing his hand on her shoulder.

"I'm fine sir." It's like there was nothing left to say to him.

"You should go home. Get some rest, you deserve it alright?" His hand slid down from her shoulder down to her wrist, his thumb rubbing her palm. This situation was moving too fast. Everything was changing too quickly. She took a step back, but he had an iron grip on her and smiled but the look In his eye was anything but happy.

"Go _**home**_ Lieutenant" he looked her directly in the eye.

They stared at each other for an entire, neither one of them willing to break eye contact and then he took a step forward like he was going-

She abruptly broke off, shrugging his arm off and looking at him with the most confused look she had ever sported.

"Colonel what has gotten into you?" The words choked out of her mouth. All this in one day.

His eyes bored into hers, than he turned around and shrugged.

"Good-bye Lieutenant." There was a finality in his tone that made her want to glance behind her and see if he was talking about someone else. If nothing else, it was also an order.

After that, she just grabbed her coat and left. It seemed like the only thing left to do.

* * *

As she walked home, she…had this feeling that someone was following her. But that was the least of her worries. Roy Mustang had been her father's apprentice since he was 10 and she had been 7. A memory kept flooding her mind, the same events playing over and over again like a cycle in her head.

_Her father was in his study with Roy._

_She remembered, Roy wanted to ask her father about a journal he had found, one supposedly about alchemy._

"_Master, I've found something. I don't understand, did you write this?" Childlike innocence played over his face, his eyes wide and confused._

"_What is it boy?" her father asked uninterested._

"_Why do you write books about monsters, master?"_

_Her father's head snapped up._

_Riza remembered putting her eye closer to the keyhole to get a better look. Her father never told her he wrote stories. He had never read them to her. Ever since mommy died (the mommy she could never remember no matter how hard she looked at her parents wedding photo), he had never told her stories. And since she couldn't remember mommy, she shouldn't remember anyone telling her stories. But sometimes she remembered someone telling her stories, but it wasn't her father. She shook her head, and focused again, peering closer._

"_Where did you find that?! Answer me boy!" Her father's voice was weak but his tone was still an order._

"_With the other ones sir. In your closet full of books. Your stories are very good though sir." Roy answered nervously._

"_Are there monsters in this house, sir ?" Roy blurted out._

_Her father stared. And stared. A glazed, lost, and all together hopeless look. Than he blinked. And he remained silent for a long time. After what seemed to the 7 year old Riza forever, he spoke._

"_Monsters do not exist in our world boy, and they never will. If they did, we'd have gotten rid of them." Her father answered, like he was reciting a mantra he had said over and over again and was sick of it._

"_Sir?"_

"_Yes, Roy?" Her father asked tiredly._

"_You wrote these stories? I don't understand something." Roy said, his eyebrows raised._

"_What?" Her father said bluntly. His look was annoyed._

"_Why did you make the monster a little girl?" Roy asked timidly, curiosity winning out._

_Her father was about to answer in the same, tired routine. But then his eyes got far away, and without looking at Roy, he said:_

"_The little girl is not the monster, my boy. It's the old man who pretends to be her father."_

"_Oh. Than what's the little girl in the story for?" Roy was just dragging he conversation out now, for the sake of being able to have a conversation with his childhood idol._

"_She's the victim, my boy. Of a terrible crime. And the story will only end in tears Roy, I can't help what it's become, and you should stop reading it. There is no point in trying to save what is already lost."_

_Her father lost his grip on reality once again, his eyes becoming bleary and distant. And seeing as how his master's words had made no sense, Roy just stood there staring, trying to comprehend the depth of the scene._

_Riza had found it so unfair that after Roy had read all the 'stories' her father had written, Roy refused to let her read them. He had said they would scare her. She said she liked horror stories. He told her she didn't understand ( ). He had always acted a little weird after that (more than usual, him being a boy and everything, he was weird to begin with) and was more protective of her._

Riza shuddered and walked on, occasionally glancing over her shoulder with the distinct feeling she was being watched, but not followed.


	6. Running In Circles

Well hello again and, ah, glorious Saturdays! _**Thank you Miss Cheerful , and you too 'Mysterious' guest reviewer ;)**_** :) :) :) :)**. I'm truly over-joyed to know that you like it, so onward ho fellow civilians! Let us go forth, and read the adventures of Merrick the ego-maniac and his ego as they travel across Amestris looking for the key to the universe!Ta-da!

* * *

Finally, she was at her apartment. She unlocked the door cautiously, only to hear a loud bark welcome her. She jumped back, and then shook her head furiously. Now Black Hayate was scaring her? The world really was getting messed up. She walked in, the black and white puppy hoping around at her feet. He probably just needed a walk. After locking the door, she reached down and stroked his black fur. He happily licked her hand, as always, adoring the attention. She sighed. She would take him to work more often, but he had a penchant for wandering off and scaring the younger officers into the thinking he was rabid the way he chased them endlessly, just begging for more attention. She glanced up a the clock on the wall. 7:30. She looked down at her sweet, innocent (*cough* ahem), little puppy. He was so peacefully oblivious to what a hell life was changing into. A hell of lies and secrets that shouldn't be there.

She placed more food into his bowl, and gave him a small hug. Then she went into her room and changed into some more discreet street clothes, disguising her as an ordinary civilian. She considered taking him with her. But if something happened, - no, as cruel as it may seem to leave him here, there was a fire escape by the balcony that he could easily get out in an emergency. She nodded absently to herself, content with the knowledge he was safe. Making sure she had all the ammunition she needed in case of an emergency, she then slipped a small knife into her boot. It may not be her weapon of choice, but it couldn't hurt. She glanced up at the clock again. Ten minutes had gone by. Just as she opened the door to leave, Hayate barked at her. Like he was trying to tell her to stop. The happy, frolicking puppy growled softly, not at her, but at the door. She gave a rare smile and walked out, locked the door and walked swiftly, intent on getting there before her 'informant' did.

* * *

_Damn,_ she thought to herself.

The man who had given her the folder was standing under a street light that had just turned on, it's light too bright for the sky that reflected still yet a shred of sunlight. The sky was a brilliant orange, and a light indigo blue in the distance. But her focus was on the stranger, and holding her head high as to make her look confident, she walked briskly toward him.

"What's your name?" The words were blunt and cold, just like she wanted them to be.

"Call me Mer." He said casually still leaning under the streetlight.

She scowled.

"Or Merrick. " He added, raising his eyebrows at her hostility.

"How did you forge the documents?"

He let out a low whistle and shook his head as if she had told a joke.

"What do you have against the colonel?" she pressed again "Who hired you?"

He looked up at her, a smirk playing over his features.

"Hired me? The Fuher president, but of course." He said solemnly.

She was about to let out a gasp and demand how that was possible, when he started to laugh hysterically.

"Who do you work for?" she growled, sick of the game.

"Why don't you just get it? Mustang doesn't _**care **_about you. Doesn't care about anyone except his own skin. Get over this world." He rolled his eyes dramatically.

She was about to let out a snarl, anger seething inside of her when something stopped her.

"What do you mean, 'this world'?" she asked, anger still boiling in her but curiosity surfacing.

His expression washed over with mock surprise that he had said those words, but she could tell he had meant to say them all along. He was baiting her.

"Wow. You…weren't supposed to know that…yet. Damn, I'm getting ahead of myself. But what matters is that your safe…that's all that matters to me, ya know?" His eyes looked right at hers. Cue that plastic smile. She was three inches away from pointing her gun at him.

"_**Why are you doing this**_?!" She yelled, sick of his disturbing sympathy for her despite the fact they had never known each other.

"Do you even know who you are? Really?" he asked, like she was new and didn't understand something.

"I am Riza Hawkeye, First Lieutenant to Colonel Mustang." Her patience snapped, like a tripwire. He had crossed the line. She reached into her jacket to whip out her gun-but…there was nothing there. She looked behind her shoulder blade. Her second gun was gone.

"Looking for these?" he held one gun in each hand haphazardly and tossed them behind him. "You know I did say come alone- I also meant unarmed." He walked over to her.

A look of horror arranged itself on her face unexpectedly-no-how the hell had he- all she could do was stare. This could not be happening. This was impossible.

"You'll see that you are so, so much more soon. So much more than they see. So few of us truly see you. Like me. I see all that you can become, all I can help-"

She stepped towards him, and smiled at him. _Wow__,_ she thought.

He also smiled at her as well, and lifted his hand, as if to lay it on her cheek. In his eyes he no doubt thought they were having a 'moment'. In hers, all she could do was complete her previous thought:

_He really is an idiot._

As quick as a flash of lightning on the night's horizon, she slipped her hand into her boot and yanked out the knife, grabbed him by the collar, and slammed him against the lamppost.

"Who sent you?!" She pressed the knife to his neck, threatening to let it slide across

"I guess you really are still loyal to Mustang." He answered annoyed, avoiding her question.

"You had better believe it, and if you ever thought trying to incriminate-" she snarled at him but was cut off before she could finish.

"Goodnight." He said plainly.

"What?!" she barked at him.

"I really didn't want it to be this way." He answered, averting his glance to the side.

She was just about to slam him against the post again when she felt something strong and hard lash across her face like a whip. She staggered for a second, and then collapsed on the ground. Her throat constricted, her chest tightened, and she couldn't breathe. As she felt herself fade away, she heard…voices?

"Good girl." Merrick?

Was he talking to her, or someone-or something else?

The answer to his praise was a growl, and the purr of an animal that sounded quite large.

And then…

Everything went black.

She could only remember one thing as she slipped away.

She never said bye to Roy.

* * *

I think I'm starting to tear up ( I'm overemotional, everything I do is expressed in smilies and tears). Hows Merrick coming across to you? Good character, bad character? Worthy of being executed on behalf of royai? Maybe? Anyway next chapter is a bit of Roy's point of view, maybe a smidgen of Merrick's backstory, and of course, what happens to Riza. Thanks again guys! (Oh and if you find any plot holes, tell me plz so I can patch em' up, thx! :) )


	7. A Hidden Agenda

Hmmm... I feel this chapter isn't as exciting as the others...more thinking in here than epic action, but alas, dear citizens, I had the need to explain Merrick's annoyingly insidious mind. The next chapter will have some fight scenes people, and plenty of suspense, because I know we all love that!_** And THANK YOU Fullmetalscully for the extremely heart warming review! :) :) :)**_

Now, onward! Thank you for reading. ;)

* * *

She was awake. She hadn't opened her eyes yet and she wasn't sure she wanted to. Vaguely recalling the events of the day, she decided she'd have to do it sooner rather than later. She opened her eyes. It wasn't what she expected.

Sunlight flooded the room from a window that faced her back, and a green vase full of light blue forget-me-nots sat on the windowsill. She sat up. She had been sleeping on a double bed, the sheets a pale blue so light they almost looked white in the golden morning sun. Someone had taken off her jacket, shoes, and the clip that held her hair up. There was a small table beside the bed, and on it there was a lamp, a mug, and a note. She grabbed the note and read furiously.

_**I'm so sorry for the inconvenience.**_

_**We will explain soon**_

_**I noticed you don't like coffee**_

_**It's Cinnamon, you're favorite, eh?**_

_**Enjoy,**_

_**Merrick ;)**_

She wanted to be so, so angry. She wanted to be furious; she wanted to kill this man. But at the same time, she felt sort of…a peace, and despite the fact she had just slept, she was so very tired. Oh, and thirsty. The sweet smell of hot chocolate filled the air, laced with cinnamon. What was wrong with her? But she shook her head, _they must have drugged me_ she thought. But there was that overpowering desire to drink from the mug. Before she realized it, she had picked it the mug and raised it to her lips to drink. It was sweet and warm, its taste rolling down her throat. And suddenly her eyes began to close, and she dropped the mug. The last thing she heard was it shatter to the ground in an ear-splitting crash, the sedatives in her system taking their toll. What was wrong with her…she should have known…it was drugged….than why…did she drink it…? Damn that Merrick to whatever Hell he came from.

* * *

"You're just like your father Merrick!" his master screamed

"You are corrupt, all you want is power! Eleindi is so much more than what you are seeing fool!" his master held his hands in the air like he was preaching a sermon that Merrick wasn't listening to.

"You're the fool. Eleindi is not a gift from the heavens, it is merely a part of the earth, a resource that any man may use to his own devices. Do you really think I believe all your crap about 'the chosen few'? Anyone can do Eleindi old man, as long as they have the power to wield it! You're a coward, master, nothing but a fraud who hides behind traditions and laws! I am sick of being treated differently! " A seventeen year old Merrick stood in the center of an ancient library, its shelves of tomes rising 50 feet into the air, scoffing at the idea it was _he_ who was _corrupt._

Thunder boomed dramatically in the distance, as if on cue.

"I cannot let you leave ,boy-no,no. You are no longer a boy- you are a _monster_." The old man said wearily, watching a scene play out before his eyes that he had seen a hundred times before. There were those who accepted the ancient rules, and those…who desired more. This boy, like so many others, was of the latter category.

"How _**DARE**_ you judge me? I watched my parents die, I watched you watch my parents die, and I watched you do nothing. They were nothing if not loyal to you, and you let them die. Because it was convenient. For **you**. Every day, every time I blink, I see their eyes _**ripped**_ out of their skulls by the bloody hands of your brothers. " Merrick clenched his hands into fists. He was sick of this corruption.

"They broke the laws my boy. They paid the price. Their agony was a justified-" It was sad indeed, but the Hazzels' had taken away a significant asset to the kingdom. The Brotherhood had only enforced the necessary discipline.

"_**JUSTIFIED**_?! _They did it to save an innocent girl, a girl who did nothing but be born different! And all she was to you was a weapon. You killed them because they were too GOOD for this sorry little cult you call a guild. And all these years I've had to pretend to be the faithful student- and you know what? First I'm going to kill you old man_." He raised his hands to summon a strike of dark energy when he froze-

The old man took a step back, throwing his arms up in pathetic defense.

"No, you know what? I'm not going to _**kill**_ you." Merrick laid his arms by his side, and then he looked up, and smiled.

"I'm glad you've finally seen reason boy-your punishment will be swift and painless, your funeral-" The old man spoke hastily, ready to yell for help, over joyed to know he would live.

"Not so fast old man. I'm going to find the girl, and when I do?" Merrick spoke in a sing-song voice his eyes had last all grip on reality-all sanity.

The Master stared at his student- had he gone raving mad? The girl was lost to another world, and she would never be found.

"She and I shall join forces, and make your sad little life, a living hell. A burning torturous hell in which every _**person**_, you have _**EVER**_ loved will _suffer_." The vengeful glint in his eye burned into the old man's mind. Ambition caused him to laugh uncontrollably -why- if he were that powerful, he could rule the world.

* * *

Merrick's mind snapped back to reality. He shifted the vial he had poisoned her drink with in his hand. Poor, poor uncle. Thinking he was here for the sake of 'scientific exploration'. She really was all he had left. And he would do anything to have her.

CRASH

He glanced up at the staircase steps, not surprised by the sound. He walked up, slipping he vial back into his pocket, an old smile on his face. He knew- he knew- once she understood the truth, she'd go with him. After all, what did she have left in this world?

* * *

Roy stared at his hands. With a simple snap, he'd had taken and destroyed so many lives. By signing one paper, he had destroyed the life he held most dear. He would never forget the day he found out her life was nothing but an orchestrated set of movements-he would change that when he became Fuher, or so he told himself. Let her be truly free. He had never wanted her to know the truth (he couldn't let it break her). He would have to think about some excuse to why he had acted so strangely. Another break-up with some girl he was 'drastically' in love with, or maybe a death in the family, and then again as much as he hated to say it, he could always use Hughes' death as an excuse for his violent outburst. Anything to keep her from knowing the truth. At least she hadn't seen what was in the envelope_. Thank God,_ he thought, _and may she never see it._

* * *

Too late Roy-boy, too late. Well the next chapter will actually have some juicy plot, of that I can assure you, and I thank you for reading dear people of nowhere-in-particular, and may you all have a simply marvelous day. :)


	8. A Dose of Unbelievable

Okay people. One thing. Two things. Whole lotta things. One this IS still a royai story, because as you read this chapter, your eyebrows are sure to raise themselves in protest (Sharpshooter no likee ). I'm sorry for leaving out the whole Elendai concept, I could have sworn I put it in the last one. Calling it magic doesn't really work with my grand master plan, and it isn't really like alchemy because that transmutes, or changes matter using equivalent exchange. I think I'm going a bit deep into the concept, but I just can't help myself, ya know :) ? Any questions, and please inform me of any plot holes. Thanks people! ;)

Elendai- is the very force of the cosmos themselves. It consists of four 'elements' :

Socio -what could be described loosely as parapsychology stuff like telepathy, telekinesis, influencing people into doing stuff, you get the gist.

Terrae - the ability to manipulate the Earth gradually, cause a hurricane, direct a river, even temporarily change the direction of the wind, speaks to the 'earth' basically, but cannot directly control it (a.k.a you can't do something nature wouldn't do itself, so to speak, you would have to take what nature had given you, and 'sculpt' it) For instance, you could draw oil out of the earth at will if it was already there, but you can't cause it to form).

Vocem - the ability to speak to all in every language, even animals.

Stellos - the ability to literally draw energy from the universe, create, and destroy matter at will.

* * *

Her head slammed the ground, forcing her comatose state into recluse. Her eyes blinked open, but felt like they were lined with lead. I need to get up, she thought to herself, and struggled to her feet, the sedatives fighting her every move. Spinning around to face the force that had caused her collapse, she saw only the bed. She must have fallen out of it. But that was the least of her concerns. She could hear a clamoring coming from outside the door. Footsteps, voices, all stirring a feeling of danger in her. Her eyes darted back and forth. I need a way out. It was the same room, nothing had changed. She couldn't use the door, so her eyes darted to the glass window. The footsteps were coming furiously, the voices raised.

One chance. Riza stared for one second. That's how long it took for her to make the decision. With a full-blown charge, her left shoulder slammed into the glass, shattering it, the shards flying in her hair and face. For three seconds all she could feel was wind, cool cold air that ran down her spine. She hugged her knees to her chest and closed her eyes. The water slammed into her like a wall. The shock penetrated her mind, the pressure slammed her lungs. Sinking, I'm sinking, was the only thought in her mind. The water was freezing, so absolutely freezing cold she felt nothing but numb all over. Water filled Riza's lungs, and desperation to survive enveloped her. But the sedatives held her down, and with her knees still hugged to her chest, she knew she was going to die.

And that she never got to say good-bye to Roy.

As this thought was accepted into her mind like last words, the will to live floated away like a forgotten dream. She had no strength left.

In the dark distance, there was a splash. The watery background that surrounded her ears like music was interrupted by the sound of something beating against the water. Something-someone grabbed her wrist, and pulled her up. The numb feeling left her, and she was greeted instead by the air, clasping her like a frigid second skin. Someone heaved her onto the shore. And all she could think was one thing. When would this nightmare end? She just wanted to wake up.

Very dimly, she could hear someone screaming something. Someone pounding on her chest, trying to get the water to come out of her. Trying to save her? And then they opened her mouth with their hand, pressed their face up to hers, and breathed. Twice, that's how long it took to wake her from the polar dream of death. And then she realized what was happening. She opened her eyes.

Droplets dripped onto her face. Dark wet hair hovered over her.

And it wasn't Roy's.

She turned her knee and shifted her foot so it faced her 'rescuer'-

And slammed it into their stomach.

"ARGH!" A male voiced yelled into the air, what little strength she had devoted to bringing him pain.

She sat up water throwing itself out of her throat, her bleary eyes than turned towards the man.

Merrick.

It was-

No.

Merrick.

Who else, she thought to herself, and like it had so many times before in recent days, and bringing her once again out of character, her temper exploded. A very violent Hawkeye leapt at him, full on ready to rip him limb from limb, despite her near encounter with death.

He had just given her one more reason to die.

He rolled away just in time, causing her to crash into the ground.

"CALM DOWN WOMAN! I JUST SAVED YOUR LIFE FOR GOD'S SAKE!"

She sat up once again, his shout drifting out of her mind as soon as it was heard. But just about as she was ready to repeat her attack, a streak of white flashed in front of her target. She jumped back, her heart pounding in shock.

In front of Merrick stood a tiger-no, this was definitely not a tiger. It resembled a sabertooth- lion, but held a pattern exact to that of a white tiger. It's eyes were turquoise green, bold and intelligent. But it's skin was not fur, but made of tens of thousands of rippling scales in steaks and stripes of both black and white, which dazzled under the soft moonlight . It's tail was reptilian, as long as the creature itself was and decorated with a black spiral that ended at the tip. Two ivory bat-like wings lay at it's sides, almost translucent blue veins running through was nearly four feet high, and nearly 8 feet long. It was massive, in other words. Riza sat there, speechless, not believing her eyes as they took in the creature. Minutes passed like hours the same four words spinning through her mind.

This can't be happening.

This can't be happening.

This IS NOT happening.

But it was.

Merrick's voice broke the silence.

"Stand down, Seraphina."

The creature's eyes turned to him, and it growled at it's name as it as spoken aloud.

"She's not a threat Sarie." He looked at her as he said it, warning behind his eyes.

The creature turned it's head towards her once again, and penetrated her eyes with its own.

She simply stared back, darting her eyes between Merrick and the beast. Disbelief coursed through her like it was blood.

As if it could hear her doubt, the creature let out a mighty roar that sounded all at once feline, draconic, and…human? Was this creature a chimaera? But it couldn't be. Chimaeras looked like rag dolls assembled from the limbs of living stuffed animals, none of their attributes matching the other ones with any real likeness. But this…creature…was whole in a way she couldn't explain. But it sure as hell hadn't come from Amestris, and it sure as hell didn't come from this world.

Her whole mind was spinning.

Suddenly there was a clatter behind her, but shock delayed her reflexes and by the time she had turned around-

_**THUNK**_

A hard, blunt object came in contact with her head.

Her whole world, once again, had condemned itself into pure darkness.

"Why would you do that?! She was unarmed, Serie would never have let her hurt me-" Merricks voice rang in her ear.

The animal purred in agreement.

"and we do need her_** INTACT**_ Aredian!" She was surprised by the wrath in his voice.

"Meh, she is more dangerous than they said. She is not the innocent girl from before. We will deal with her as we have too."

The old man callous voice was the last thing she heard before sound, too, faded from her.

* * *

Another unconscious ending. I feel there was a joke in that sentence that I myself don't get...

Now, folks, am I doing all right with our beloved OC Merrick, or do you wanna pound him into the gravel? Or me, for that matter, for writing him? :)

Thank you, and I do hope you enjoyed this chapter (I know I sure as heck did).

Oh and for those who like name meanings and other all-together useless trivia (like moi) , 'Merrick' means to rule, or to have fame, and Seraphina means 'angel'.


	9. Everybody Has A Motive ?

Hear we go. No Riza, but the views of three of the characters. This will be an interesting chapter hopefully. Thank you kind people, for reading this. Enjoy some Merrick, Aredian, and Mustang. :0 ;)

* * *

Aredian began to rearrange the boxes.

"We go back tomorrow, prepare yourself nephew, is that clear?"

"Of course uncle." He replied wholeheartedly.

"Perhaps the girl will be gift enough, so the master of the Brotherhood will forgive you." The patience in his uncles voice, the hope, annoyed Merrick.

Merrick turned around so his uncle would not see his face twitch in anger, and tried to keep his voice from turning to bitterness.

"Perhaps" he said mildly.

But Merrick had no intentions of letting the girl become another toy for the man who had murdered his parents. On the contrary, he planned to backstab his uncle (emphasis on the word stab) immediately once they reached their world, as a matter of fact, maybe even the second they stepped out of the portal. Then he would just kick his uncle's body back in, and then everybody would have what they wanted.

Except his uncle.

Or anyone but him for that matter.

But that was not his concern.

* * *

Aredian stared at his nephew.

Such a sweet, innocent boy, who had merely, given into revenge.

He was like a son to Aredian.

So, honestly,

It was a real shame Aredian would have to kill him the minute he stepped through the portal.

But, their (or rather, his) true mission here could never be known. The brotherhood was under the delusion they were bringing the girl through the portal for the guild. In truth, Aredian had been paid a handsome sum to insure the girl ended up in a private laboratory. Without the coin the man was offering, Aredian would not be able to continue his research (ever since his family had died in that fire), and he feared, without his research, he would go mad. And as every human has their own personal , ultimate fear, madness was Aredian's.

What he would never understand was that minute he entertained the idea of carrying out a mission to go to another universe, capture a human weapon, than kill the boy who had helped him (and Merrick had been so encouraging about the whole thing too, poor boy), who was the only (living) child of his sister, well, that proved he had been mad to begin with.

* * *

Grumman leaned back in his chair. His 'grand-daughter' had disappeared. He chuckled to himself, pleased with the results. Imagine the outrage that had coursed through his mind when the 'monster' had been selected to live with his daughter and her husband. They were both scientists, both of the alchemical variety. And unable to have children, well, they themselves had petitioned for the role of 'parents', thinking it the ultimate experiment. Then Annica had died, from cancer, apparently. That had changed everything. Everything. And then to make matters worse, that fool of a son-in-law started to train an apprentice.

"The boy is merely a cover." Berthold had tried to explain.

But Grumman knew better, oh, did he know better. Berthold was starting to regret his crimes, and so he was trying to earn his retribution, training the boy to protect the girl, like something in a child's bedtime story, star-crossed, love-at-first-sight type of thing. And it worked, even if fairy tales are only an illusion we tell to ourselves before we go to sleep, so we don't dream of the nightmare of reality. Mustang had agreed to keep an eye on her, so long as she was never harmed. Like a true prince charming. Repulsive.

It would have been sweet, truly, if not for the fact she was basically an abomination with inhuman powers.

He had never asked the scientists who 'treated' her how they had removed the girl's past memories, there had been no need. She had forgotten, and her memories were lost.

It was disgusting how fond Berthold had grown of her, of how fond Grumman's own daughter had grown of the witch child.

That _**girl,**_ was responsible for his daughter's death somehow (he just knew it, people don't die that suddenly), he refused to accept his daughter's death as natural. Anything, anything at all, to take away the guilt of never telling his child he loved her, of their last words being insults.

* * *

Mustang glanced up at the clock again. She wasn't just late. She wasn't here. He had already phoned her house three times, no answer. She hadn't shown up yesterday either. Was it what he said? No- she was too strong for that.

"Hey, chief, you seen the hawk around?" Havoc's voice was mumbled due to the cigarette that hanged precariously outside his mouth.

Roy blocked out his subordinate's voice and stared at the clock.

Tick, tock

Tick, tock

Ticking and tocking, the clock's inanimate life was perfect, almost surreal with its endless contentment, knowing it was always doing as it was supposed to. His eyes never left the clock, he never blinked. His mind was lost in a memory.

_After she had shown Mustang the tattoo for the first time, he played along. He hadn't expected her to show it to him so soon, hadn't expected her to have that much trust in him. It only made the plan hurt more. Before Berthold had died, he had told Roy everything. Together, they had constructed a plan. A plan so that she would never know. Their mission was to make sure she lived a content life, a normal village girl was all she would be, her old life never rediscovered. The tattoo was a necessary part of it, because mixed in with the ink, there was a serum that would permanently block her memories (the ones she could never have) by slowly dosing her with a chemical that affected part of her brain. _

_But then his master- his sensei, the one who had taught him so much, had died, at his very feet. They had coded conversations, because there was always the chance she would hear them. It was so massive a conspiracy the government itself would have to take a step back and gasp. Everything was connected._

_Roy had been called away to Ishval, and Master Hawkeye was angry, for this unexpected twist was a wrinkle in his master plan._

"_It seems you're not ready to learn my flame alchemy, Roy." How can you protect her, boy?_

"_I have to do this, I have to use alchemy to protect the world," Not so subtly, Mustang tried to indicate the military was the only way for him to protect her._

_And so the conversation carried on, Sensei growing paler… and paler? Suddenly he had started to cough, to choke on his own blood. His body began to shake uncontrollably, and Roy panicked unaware his master had ever been ill. But it was too late. And his final words, Roy would never forget._

"_Tell her I'm sorry."_

_After Master Hawkeye's death, he had left with the knowledge that Riza would be fine until he got back. She was smart, capable, and had a penchant for being able to stay out of trouble._

_But then, well, then the plan burned in hell._

_A burnt, torched hell, littered with the corpses of innocent children known as Ishval._

_She had joined the military._

_No, no, everything had gone so wrong now._

_She was a murderer,_

_Her eyes haunted with the souls of her victims._

_And at the end of it all, she asked him to burn the knowledge off. What choice did he have, to tell her no? Burning it might harm the elixir that was inside the tattoo, and not doing it would put her at risk for yet another reason. _

_So, he had done it._

_But the real trouble came after. The military now had evidence to do more experiments, convinced the need to kill was in her blood; after all, it had been her choice to join the military, her choice to be a soldier when she could have been so many other things. She told him later it was truly, the only thing that came to mind, and this did nothing to alleviate his fear she was as they said._

_But then, he realized, he himself had murdered. Killed, the innocent (was anyone in life truly innocent), the guilty (was anyone in life truly guilty) it was all the same. Guilt, remorse, and that was what she had felt just like him. She contained just as much humanity as he did, no matter what lies the military gave._

He watched the clock tick and then tock , and felt a shred of envy has he watched it.

Havoc gave up on an answer after about half of an hour after he had asked_; I suppose boss is in his dream world _Havoc thought to himself. Havoc shuddered, not wanting to know what it was like to be in the colonel's head.

* * *

Ahhh hear we go, please tell me what you think, and if you suspect a plot hole, tell me right away! The next chapter will have...Merrick and Mustang having a classic show down (ooooooh) , and even better, a slab of plot topped with a little drama. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for reading this. :)


	10. Surprise, Surprise

Oooookay this chapter won't be as good as the others (probably the worst so far). Mustang will be in the next one (I want to write that scene so bad!), but it just didn't work here. This one is probably full of error, rushed, and probably has quite few problems in terms of order so forgive me, but a case of writers block struck me as how to interpret my plot twist (mwaahahahha). Thank you for your patience, thank you for your time, and I'm sorry if this is so messed up it gives you a headache.

_**THANK YOU LILYKIT FOR THE REVIEWS!**_

_**(Thanks for catching that bit about flame alchemy) :) :) :)**_

I really just can't help my enthusiasm. Onward!

* * *

She felt tired.

Dull ringing filed her ears, the rest of the world silent to her.

She opened one eye, the other one unwilling to follow.

In her bleary gaze, she saw a blurred figure, back turned working on something.

She couldn't quite make anything out.

Her vision focused. And she could make out a silver coat. Her body tensed, and the figure turned around. Quickly shutting her eye, she tried to return her breathing to normal. Three footsteps, each one creaking in a deeper different tone then the one before it, as if in dramatic sequence. She felt a hand grab her arm, twisting it, turning it, again and again, as if examining it for something that they couldn't find.

'Hmmm" A very familiar voice mumbled. A voice she wanted to strangle until it couldn't even scream-

Keep breathing

Keep breathing…

She felt a hand touch her forehead, brushing her hair back, only to have the bangs return to their original position, the tips of them barely reaching her eyelids. Fury coursed through her, her hand silently clenching into a tight fist under the sheet. All she could think about-

A sudden pummel of footsteps collided with wood, and whoever was the cause must have been driven with desperation and suddenly the door flew open-

"Get downstairs boy." That old man's voice was filled with nothing but bitterness, anger, and..fear?

"Uncle?" The hand yanked back innocently, like he hadn't known what it was doing there.

It was funny how much you could see even when your eyes were closed.

"I don't know how you did it boy, but when I find out, and even if I never do –I will kill you." Nothing but venom came from her next victims uncle. Turns out Merrick wasn't very popular.

"Uncle, I-" Merrick's voice was confused, any pretense of being calm dropped.

The door simply slammed.

Merrick ran to the door and after rapidly opening it blazed down the footsteps. The second the door settled next to it's frame, she bolted up and tried to stand, but something yanked her back, making her slam back onto the bed.

Her wrist was sore, and she looked up.

A chain linked her hand to the wooden bed post.

She let out a string of swears.

* * *

Merrick began to sweat has he reached the bottom of the stairs- had his uncle found out about his plans- no, he had never left a record, nothing. Then what was this? His mind raced in a fever, searching for answers he couldn't find. He had never seen his docile, passive, ignorant uncle in such a rage. The very look he had seen on Aredian's face made the younger man silently shudder in fear. That violent look- that hunger for revenge- nothing in Merrick's mind could explain it, there was no reasonable answer.

Merrick walked through the room they had deemed storage, and after carefully maneuvering box fter box, he stepped into the study. Wide, open room that study was. It took Merrick exactly three seconds to realize what was going on.

One second to be confused.

One second to be even more confused.

And exactly one second for the shock to etch its way into his mind with a steel pickaxe.

He didn't step back in shock, his draw didn't drop, and his eyes didn't widen in the shocking revelation before his eyes. He just stood there, pose frozen, eyes frozen, heart frozen, dreams frozen. Tears should have come, hell, he should have screamed at the world for the sick, sick twisted thing life had become. For an entire minute everyone in the room just stood there, and three words coursed their way through Merrick;

What

The

Hell

Never in his life had meant those words more than now.

A hoarse, but infuriatingly calm voice snapped the silence in half

"Hello Merrick. After our previous encounter, I'd always seen our meeting to be extraordinarily violent and excruciatingly painful on your part. I'm glad we have been able to find an alternative to that predicament."

Exactly ten feet away stood man called Cornelius Ameralle. An old man still living 50 years in his past, the man who had taught his father. And then, subsequently, watched him die with his wife while patting the shoulder of the man's only striving child and saying only "It will be over soon. You won't have to watch much longer". Afterwards his parents murderers served him lemon tea, with a comforting smile and a small hug or two .It was like he had gotten a scrape on a knee, and had then started bawling uncontrollably. One woman even had the nerve to say ,

"Its awl' right me boy, just be glad they hasn't done the same to you, eh?" She had laughed, he remembered.

The memory bubbled in his mind, and his vision came back into focus. He stared at Brother Amarelle, trying to convey the psychic image of seeing one's own parents entrails being ripped out to the treacherous coward.

"You." He said it simply. What else was there to say? He could scream his parents' names. But it wouldn't faze that monster, wouldn't even make him blink. But maybe Amarelle would laugh. People did that a lot around him. His mind had stopped working. He had nothing left. Random thoughts of no consequence danced in his head, mocking him, his weakness, how pathetic he truly was.

"How did you get here?" He stretched every word, making each syllable count, because he had nothing left to say, nothing but the word 'revenge' running up and down in his head, but it was fading like the seconds that were passing.

"I'm here now. And I have heard- " he looked at Aredian cheerfully.

Aredian seemed to cower at his glance.

"that you have the girl?" He registered the look of anger that crossed Merrick's faced.

"Bring her down. I need to talk with your uncle." Amarelle waved his hand dismissively.

Merrick wanted to growl, to snarl, to roar in rage, but, thinking quickly, he bowed his head submissively and ran to the stairs, climbing the three long flights of stairs In a mad dash to the top. Once he was there, he walked to the far left , made a right, and went into a fast sprint down the hall, and with his shoulder to the door to prepare for any sudden 'attacks' (he hadn't really though those chains would hold her…) and slammed open the door.

He saw her pushing her feet against the post of the bead, trying to break the weak wood by pressing one foot where it was narrowest and the other at the base. It might have worked, given an hour or two. But he sure as hell didn't have that kind of time.

* * *

She stared at him, expecting a reaction to the fact she was awake.

She didn't get one.

Before she knew it, he was whipping out a key and slid it into the slot in the cuffs. She simply stared at him, disbelief evident. There had to be a catch.

"Someone's here for you- we need to go. NOW." His voice had a desperation that sounded unreal. She remembered his uncle's voice. She made no movement, just looked at him curiously.

Her thoughts?

Mustang had somehow, miraculously, found the hideout-

"It's not him." Merrick growled as if he knew what her first thought would be, grabbed her wrist and yanked her through the door frame.

She tried to resist, but he quickly turned around and in one swift motion, twisted her arm behind her back, and slammed his hand over her mouth to silence any protest she might have made.

She bit his hand.

He jumped back , but his hand still held an iron grip on her arm, stubbornly refusing to let her go, she jerked it anyway, trying to escape his hold.

"You little bit-" he gritted his teeth and gave her a look that meant hell. She gave him one right back.

Oh, if only looks could kill.

He went ahead of her down the hall and after making a left, continued to walk straight down, passing the staircase.

She made no comment, sure that he must know that by the way he kept looking back at it furtively.

She tried slowly pulling away, trying to do anything, anything at all, to get away from this lunatic.

But he felt it and tightened his grip.

As they came to the end of a corridor that seemed to have at least half a dozen twists and turns- she started to her hoting, and she noticed he became more tense.

What was going on? Hopefully something life-threatening for him.

At the end of the corridor was a window. Just a window, a tree in the background.

Merrick carefully opened the window, making sure he got it up all the way. It was difficult for him, using only one arm, but his grip never lessened.

He stood up, and motioned the window.

"You first."

She smiled, unconcerned with how she was going to get down from the window as long as she was getting away from him.

Very unlike her character, she swung recklessly out of the window, and glanced around for a place to grasp.

A tree lay conveniently within her grasp, and she grabbed the closest branch.

Carefully siding down the branch, she made certain to carefully make her way down the massive trunk.

Once she on the ground, she knew that in the time it would take Merrick to get-

"Looking for me?" He said it with no enthusiasm at all, in fact, he said it rather bitterly.

She whirled around to face him, anger striking her like lightning.

**_Would she never be free of this BASTARD?!_**

* * *

Wooooah Nelly, watch your language (he's not that *cough* bad). Next chapter will be better, thank you though, for reading. :) Plot hole pointers welcome! :)


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